Why NOT use Google’s Find My Device app

Find my device (formerly “Device Manager”) is a Google service that allows you to locate your Android device on a map, make it ring, lock it and even erase its data remotely and online. To perform all these actions there are several alternatives. The most common are to go to the Find my device website android.com/find or do it from the mobile app, which you can install on the cell phone of a friend or relative.

Like the web version of Find my device, the application offers practically the same options: see the location of all devices registered under the same Google account, change the name of a device (by touching on it), ring anyone by 5 minutes (even if it is silent), lock it with a password if it is not, and even add data on the lock screen, and finally erase all data from the computer, an action that once executed will unlink the Gmail account from the computer and that’s it. you will not be able to track it.

From the app you can also see the amount of battery, signal and WiFi network to which your mobile is connected, if that is the case. From the “Information” button you will be able to see the IMEI in case you want to block it, the first registration and the date of the last connection.

Unfortunately, the app offers virtually nothing different than the mobile web version of Find My Device. Instead of installing it, you could simply enter someone else’s cell phone from the incognito mode of the browser. From there you will also be able to execute the indicated actions and see the same information that the mobile application shows. Even this can be better, since the session is automatically closed after a certain time when you use the guest mode of the application.

It would also be useful if the application could automatically track in the background from time to time and notify you in case your lost phone connects and reveals its location. This would avoid having to manually search or update the location.

Remember that the Find my device service, which usually comes pre-activated from the factory, is provided by the Google Play Services application on your cell phone. In addition, it depends on the cell phone being connected to the Internet and having “Location” enabled in the Android system settings, with the “High precision” setting to have the most precise location possible. If this is not true, you may see a location area with an oversized radius or “device cannot be found” errors when trying to track it.

Download app Find my device: Play Store

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